Band Saw is a GNOME desktop software that performs syslog monitoring.
So, how does Band Saw work? Simply put, it monitors messages fed into it by a correctly configured syslog server. It scans logs and looks for messages containing text that the administrator considers relevant. Any message that matches the filters set by the administrator will trigger a dialog box that appears on the user's screen.
With the help of syslog and Band Saw combined, an administrator can efficiently monitor a sizeable number of systems for critical errors. There are some requirements that must be met to use Band Saw, including having a GTK+ version 2.8.x, Python 2.3, and PyGTK 2.8.0 (2.4.0 may work though not tested) installed. Additionally, GnomePythonExtras (with a notification tray icon supported version) is required.
The latest version of Band Saw boasts many exciting features. The alert dialogs have been replaced with a notification tray icon, eliminating the need for annoying pop-ups. Furthermore, bug fixes like bug 1446103 (Doesn't launch after welcome druid) and bug 1445846 (Window jumps to top left of screen) have been implemented. Documentations of the new tray icon and find tools have been added, and alert dialog docs have been removed. Additionally, the application will no longer display an hourglass cursor while waiting for the software to start up (bug 1446114). Some unused configuration settings keys have been removed, and the FIFO monitoring bug has been fixed (meaning that no messages would be missed).
Overall, Band Saw is an excellent syslog monitoring program for administrators that want to simplify message monitoring on their systems.
Version 0.3.0: N/A